Part I: Introduction to Resin

Book Organization

This book is organized into three parts. The first part is an introduction to Resin, including installation, setup, and explanations of how Resin works with various Java-based technologies. The second part covers application development with JSP, EJBs, templates, and other Java technologies. The third part covers advanced configuration of the Resin family of products, including enterprise-level features such as load-balancing.

Part 1: Introduction to Resin

Chapter 1: Resin Setup

In this chapter we cover the requirements for installing the Resin server. The chapter provides detailed instructions for installing Resin Core on Linux Mandrake 8.2, as well as in a Windows environment using both Windows 2000 Server and Windows XP Professional. Each of the installations will be followed by a full test to insure the installation was completely successful. After the installation steps, the directory structure for Resin Core will be discussed, along with common errors encountered during installation.

Chapter 2: Resin and Java Technologies

This chapter examines the underlying architecture of the Resin server in order to provide an overall picture of its functionality. Following the architecture is a discussion of each of the primary Java technologies relevant to the Resin family of products: servlets, JavaServer Pages, JavaBeans, and EJBs.

Part II: Application Development with Resin

Chapter 3: JSP and Resin

The part of the book devoted to developing Web application development begins with a discussion of using JSP with Resin. We create a sample application to obtain information from a client, access a database, and display output using Resin. A discussion and example of using JavaBeans with JSP is also included.

Chapter 4: Servlets and Resin

JavaServer Pages is a great improvement over the static HTML page. Servlets pull the processing to the server with all the power of Java. This chapter will step through how to write servlets to be executed on the Resin server. This chapter also demonstrates how to access the database through a servlet and JSP support.

Chapter 5: Using XTP with XSL and StyleScript

Resin doesn't just rely on HTML, JSP, and servlets for content transformation and delivery; it includes a Native format called XTP or XML Template Pages. This chapter includes detailed coverage of XPath expressions, format of XTP, and using XTP for output translation. We will cover how to write stylesheets using both XSL and StyleScript syntax.

Chapter 6: Object-Relational Mapping with CMP

This chapter takes an in-depth look at the Resin-EE product which is designed to support CMP. Detailed steps for installing Resin-EE on both Windows and Unix/Linux machines are included. The focus of the chapter is building a comprehensive distributed application that demonstrates the power and functionality of Resin-EE.

Chapter 7: Using XDoclet with Resin

Now that we've just spent an entire chapter discussing how to write and deploy EJBs using Resin, we introduce Resin's support for XDoclet. Using Javadoc notation, EJBs can be written in a small percentage of the time normally required. This chapter includes installation instructions and describes the process of writing EJBs with XDoclet.

Chapter 8: Burlap Web Service Protocol

The Resin servers support two different kinds of Web services: Burlap and Hussein. In this chapter on Burlap, the discussion begins with a comparison between Burlap and SOAP. Next, an overview of the Burlap specification will take place and provide a complete understanding of how Burlap applies to Web services. The theoretical discussion will be followed by writing a Burlap service and a client to use the new service in Java. Next, the issue of how to serialize data through Burlap will be covered. The chapter will continue with the steps necessary to write Burlap clients in Python, Perl, and C#. Finally, a discussion of how Burlap and EJB interact.

Chapter 9: Hessian Binary Web Service Protocol

The second Web services protocol supported by the Resin servers is Hessian. This chapter begins with a detailed discussion of the Hessian Binary Web Service Protocol. The discussion will be followed with the steps necessary to write both a service and client using the Java language. This chapter includes details for writing clients in Python and C#. Finally, a discussion on the interaction between Hessian and EJB.

Chapter 10: Parsing

In this chapter, the Resin server includes a complete HTML parser. This parser can be used to pull HTML tags from HTML documents from an HTML editor or even from web pages pulled from the Internet. The parsing can be to a document or even a DOM object for further processing.

Chapter 11: Database Connectivity

The real power of a Web site was realized when it was married to a database. This chapter demonstrates how Resin allows access to several different databases including MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle. This chapter covers a wide range of database-related information, including using connection pools for efficient connections and a comprehensive look at database configuration.

Chapter 12: Debugging and Logging

This chapter explains the configuration settings for all logging; it also includes code that demonstrates how to log application activity.

Chapter 13: Security

This chapter explains how to use Resin with OpenSSL. Topics and code will include login configuration, authenticator support, and authorization setup.

Chapter 14: Page Caching

Caching is fundamental to any good Internet server. Resin includes full caching, and this chapter provides an overview of the Resin Cache, cache configuration operations, and demonstrates the effectiveness of the cache.

Part III: Resin Administration

Chapter 15: Resin Server Configuration

This chapter provides a comprehensive review of all Resin configuration options (except those for the internal Web server which are covered in the next chapter). The discussion begins with a full explanation of the resin.conf file. The configuration options covered are: general, servlet, database, Web application, and http. Other topics include threading, Linux boot start, and keepalives.

Chapter 16: Web Server Configuration

Resin can be configured to use either its own internal Web server or external Web servers such as Apache, IIS, and Netscape. This chapter will include a complete review of all configuration options for the internal Web server for both Windows and Linux platforms; it also explains how to configure Resin to work with external Web servers. Other topics include hosting CGI's written in PHP, Perl, and Python without using Apache; CGIServlet; FastCGIServet; and full coverage of Resin's WebDav.

Chapter 17: Virtual Hosting

This chapter includes complete instructions for installing and configuring Resin's built-in virtual hosting capabilities. The chapter also explains how to use Resin with external Web servers in a virtual hosting configuration.

Chapter 18: Resin Hardcore

An experimental but powerful feature of the Resin Core product is its ability to be incorporated directly into the kernel of the Linux OS. This chapter explains why incorporating Resin into the latest Linux kernel is a good performance option, and it provides detailed steps for performing the incorporation. The potential problems associated with the Resin-Linux kernel mix will be discussed as well as example code for testing the incorporation.

Chapter 19: Reliability and Load Balancing

This chapter provides an overview of Resin's approach to reliability and load balancing, as well as configuration details. Additional topics include handling sessions and persistence, as well as building multiple Web servers. Finally, the topic of server failure is discussed.

Part IV: Appendixes

Appendix A: Working with Resin Source Code

This appendix provides information on the Resin Source Code.

Appendix B: Resin Status

This appendix explains how to use Resin's built-in status servlet to obtain a wide range of information about the server. Related security issues are also discussed.

Appendix C: Resin and Eclipse

This appendix provides details of using Resin as your Web development platform from within the Eclipse IDE.

Appendix D: Burlap and Hessian APIs

This appendix is a concise, quick reference to Resin's Burlap and Hessian APIs.